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Tip

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Method

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter
and line the base of a 18 x 28cm cake tin
or tray. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl;
beat together with electric hand beaters until
light and fluffy. add the eggs a little at a time,
beating well between each addition.

Sieve the flour, cocoa and bicarbonate
of soda into the bowl, then tip in any
bran left in the sieve. Pour in the natural
yogurt. Stir everything to a smooth mixture
and spoon into the prepared tin. Bake for
20-25 mins until just firm and shrinking
away from the sides of the tin. Cool in the
tin for 5 mins, then turn onto a wire rack
to cool completely.

For the icing, sieve the icing sugar and
cocoa into a bowl, then pour in the butter
and 2 tbsp just-boiled water. Stir together
to a smooth, spreadable consistency. if it’s
too stiff, very carefully add a little more
boiling water, drop by drop.

Spread the icing over the top of the cake,
using a palette knife dipped in hot water. Will
keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Melt the chocolates in three different
bowls in the microwave on High for 1 min
or over a pan of simmering water. Spoon
the melted chocolates into three plastic
disposable piping bags. Snip the ends off
and pipe 12 simple shapes on top of the
cake. Leave to set. Just before serving,
cut the cake into 12 squares and push
in the candles.

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Comments, questions and tips

Comments

I make lots of different cakes and decided to try this one for a joint birthday for my husband and a friend.Made a ganache instead of icing as suggested by someone in comments and it was lovely but the cake itself was awful.Tasted like a "diet" cake.Had to apologise for it tasting so yuk even though it looked lovely.Gave most of it to my chickens.

I made this cake but didn't turn out that great I used a cocoa powder substitute. Does anyone know where I can get a good cocoa powder from I have looked every where from asda, tesco to co-op :( please help

I used two 9 inch round tins as I haven't got a square one. I could only find drinking chocolate in the cupboard so I grated some extra chocolate in to the mixture and also used self raising flour rather than wholemeal flour.

I made the topping and used some of it to sandwich the two cakes together. My little boy and I then finished it off with grated chocolate and sprinkles.

It looked great and tasted delicious.

Everyone commented on how light and moist it was.
Will definitely make it again.

Have made this for birthdays and just as a treat, totally yummy, and given that it has some healthy ingrediants, you don't feel quite as guilty! So easy to make, and looks great just with choc sprinkles on it, or decorated in a way that is appropriate to the occasion, so not just a kids cake! Very versatile.

Made this last weekend for my brother (35 but still loves a b'day cake), it turned out pretty well but didn't quite rise properly - not sure if this was because I didn't leave it in long enough or if like someone else suggested maybe there should have been more bicarb of soda in it - but it tasted good, if not a bit stodgy. Instead of the squares I made the cake in 2 rounds to make it more 'adult'; I also added buttercream in between and then iced it with dark chocolate to make it extra indulgent.

Best chocolate cake recipe ever, highly recommend it.
Used it for several birthdays and everyone wants the recipe.
I'm not a lover of cake in general but this cake is moist and delicious but not too sweet you can't have more. Have only made it with normal self raising flour and always top it with melted Cadburys chocolate.

Gorgeous light and moist cake and really easy to make. I used white flour (half of which was plain as I didn't have enough self raising) and added a spoon of golden syrup which helps to retain moisture.

My daughters birthday is this Saturday and I would love to make her cake myself although I haven't got a good track record with baking. I have a round cake tin that is 26cm, do I need to adjust the ingredients for this. Any help would be appreciated.

Made this cake with my daughter Fraya and we both, strangely enough, agreed it was scrumptious! Would recommend this to anyone! Easy, fast, tastes great, there is simply no better cake! EVERYONE, EAT OR YOUR LIVES! I'm sorry, I do not know how to backspace and my daughter will not tell me. I'm sad. But the cake is cheering me up awfully well!

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